This Monday, “NCIS” offers a classic, if not slightly creaky, undercover escapade. “Hardboiled,” the ominously titled Season 21, Episode 8 (or #478 for those keeping score at home), finds Agent Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) neck-deep in the murky world of black market intel. Apparently, some top-secret Naval information has sprung a leak, and our perpetually ruffled agent is tasked with plugging it before it’s sold off piecemeal to the highest bidder.
Torres, working with a confidential informant (because what’s an undercover operation without a shifty accomplice?), must infiltrate this shadowy network of information brokers. Will he succeed in retrieving the sensitive data? Or will he be made, compromised, or worse? “NCIS,” despite its two-decade run, occasionally remembers how to crank up the tension. This week, at least on paper, looks like one of those times.
This isn’t exactly reinventing the spy thriller wheel. We’ve seen this basic setup countless times – the mole, the race against time, the threat of global catastrophe hanging in the balance. But the “NCIS” formula, much like a comfortable pair of old shoes, offers a certain predictable pleasure. It’s familiar, it’s unchallenging, and sometimes, that’s precisely what you want on a Monday night.
“Hardboiled” is written by Andrew Bartels and directed by Jose Clemente Hernandez. Their combined efforts will determine whether this episode adds anything new to the well-worn undercover trope, or whether it’s content to coast on the fumes of past glories. Let’s just hope Torres remembers to bring his sunglasses.
“NCIS” airs Monday, December 2nd, from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM EST on CBS. You can also catch it on Paramount+.
